YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP: 'The Secret of two Cities – Revealed!'

Sunday

Mar 30, 2014 at 2:00 PM

Are we teetering on the brink of another nuclear arms race and a return to the Cold War? I am cautious, but hopeful that isn't the case.

The Rev. Bill Turpie

Are we teetering on the brink of another nuclear arms race and a return to the Cold War? I am cautious, but hopeful that isn’t the case. Cautious because nuclear annihilation just a short time ago seemed all too possible, and hopeful because I still believe the Hebrew prophet’s vision that the nations “will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). These words sound naïve after Russia’s aggressive annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Yet, since the collapse of the Soviet Union a remarkable collaboration has been happening that gives me reason to hope.

Here is what is behind that hope. Several years ago I was in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the once secret city where our scientists worked at breakneck speed to develop the first atomic bomb. I was there to do a story on radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing in both the United States and the former Soviet Union. At that time I met Paul C. White, a physicist from Los Alamos who was in charge of a team working on securing and dismantling nuclear weapons that were located all across the Soviet’s vast territory. To my amazement he told me about a large contingent of Russian physicists who were located in what was their equivalent of Los Alamos – Arzamas 16. This was also a secret city located about 450 miles from Moscow, where their atom bomb was developed and nuclear weapons work continued.

When the Cold War ended, physicists in Russia were making only about $100 a month and the Russian economy was in free-fall. There were enormous fears that the disarray going on in the country would make these elite experts vulnerable to outside agents anxious to gain their expertise and nuclear materials in order to develop suitcase sized nukes and other weapons. Paul White was just starting his work when we first met. It turns out his team working with the Russian team in Arzamas has had tremendous success in eliminating nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and in many parts of Russia itself. Not only have they been able to destroy the weapons, and many of their delivery systems, but also they have been able to develop electronic detection systems to secure and keep track of those nuclear materials, which could be more than frightening if they fell into the hands of terrorists or rouge nations.

I have thought of Paul often since my visit to Los Alamos and this week I called to talk with him in the light of the tensions that have been building in the past weeks between the former super powers over Ukraine. He spelled out a fascinating story of two cities that have learned about more than securing lethal weapons. Los Alamos and Arzamas 16 are almost mirror images of each other. Paul says they discovered that their Russian counterparts also shared equal concerns about dismantling these weapons and securing nuclear materials. He said, “We came to realize that we were more alike than we were different.” Their cooperation has gone on for close to 22 years. Paul White has made 50 trips to Russia, mostly to Arzamas. Over this time, the scientists have become friends. They have gotten to know each other’s families. They’ve picnicked together. They connect on Facebook and their high schools have participated in many exchange programs. They have become sister cities.

There is more however to this success story. Russia and the U.S. still have a significant number of nuclear weapons. However, the relationships between these scientists still run deep, deeper than intelligence agencies may be able to fathom. Paul White is a Christian believer, who takes his commitment very seriously. He is a member of White Rock United Methodist Church. He says his faith has always made him interested in meeting his counterparts in Russia and treating them as people of worth. Arzamas 16 now has a new name, Sarov, which is actually its old name. The city was once the site of a large Russian Orthodox monastery. The Soviets took over the city and the monastery, killed the monks and renamed the site Arzamas 16. There were several churches in the city. Some were torn down by the Soviets. Those have now been rebuilt and are filled for services. Over the years Paul says into their discussions has been creeping a certain amount of “God talk.” Many of the Russian scientists say they are “believers,” and they often finish their discussions with the phrase “God willing.”

Paul White also told me that he was in touch with his counterparts in Sarov just two days ago and he says they “reassured each other of their commitment to continue their collaboration” and to keep these nuclear materials secure, no matter what the political posturing of their countries might be. If the Hebrew prophet Isaiah were speaking today he might say something to the effect of “They shall beat their weapons of highly enriched uranium into churches and synagogues, and struggle to practice war no longer.” I take tremendous hope that such cooperation is possible – that to me is the revelation of these once secret cities.

Since 2007, Bill Turpie has been pastor of New North Church in Hingham. New North is a community church with a focus on the inward journey of faith and an outward journey of service. Before coming to New North he worked for two decades as a business reporter and documentary producer and for many years ran his own production company.